iPhone lost on flight to Doha

Dear Sir,

I lost my iPhone 4S on October 1, 2013 when I travelled from Chennai, India, to Doha on QR 277 in Business Class Seat 3J. While the aircraft was landing, my iPhone slipped from my seat and went underneath  seat 2J, which was witnessed by my colleague sitting next to me (window seat) and the passenger sitting on the isle seat in the same row. I could not stop my iPhone from slipping as the aircraft was landing.

I informed the cabin crew about this and they tried to help me out but in vain. They also called mechanics but again their efforts were not successful. I was then asked to lodge a complaint in the 24-Hour Baggage Services and I promptly did so. I gave my contact details, the flight  and seat numbers and a description about the missed item.

I still haven’t got my phone back. More than eight months have passed and the response is in the negative.

I am pretty sure that it is still under seat 2J somewhere stuck inside the plate where the hydraulic mechanism of the seat is. My iPhone was in airplane mode and the power was on; hence I could not give a call to check the ringtone. Within a few hours, the battery must have been dead. I have used the “Find-my-iPhone” app to locate the device but it shows “offline status”.

I hold a Privilege Club Gold membership. Can someone from the airline’s department concerned take initiative to get my phone  back at the earliest, please?

S Lakshminarayanan, krubhalakshmi@yahoo.com

 

Unfair targeting

Dear Sir,

The World Cup is about to begin in Brazil. I am sure that Brazil has many positives to admire and, due to its great footballing history, might be the perfect choice to host the tournament. But, it is a country that suffers from some of the highest crime rates in the world. In the Amazon jungle, workers endure slave-like conditions, labouring 18 hours a day in mud and endless rain to search for gold for exploitative employers. In Sao Paulo, thousands of people live on a huge rubbish site, searching through trash to find something that they can sell for a few reals in order to feed their families.

The football stadiums aren’t fully ready, nor is the promised metro. Impoverished protesters are being shot at by police while armed drug-dealers roam the filthy slums that overlook the Copacabana Beach and peddle their murderous goods to children. None of this seems to matter to the people who chose Brazil to host the World Cup. Apparently, the only problem is Doha. I despair.

Dr Roger Ledsham, (e-mail address supplied)

 

School fee blow to parents

Dear Sir,

Two circulars issued by a well-known Indian school in Doha have come as a shock to middle-income parents.

The first circular  was related to increase in  school fees.

Tuition fee has to be paid for 12 months now. An  E-learnig fee has also to be paid for 12 months. The transportation charges  are to be paid for nine months.

The second circular was related to the “fee structure”. It says that “as per the directives from the Supreme Education Council, the school fee shall be collected in advance at the beginning of each term.”

For employees of large corporations and companies or of the government sector, the new charges  may not matter as the school fees are paid by their employers. But, for middle-income expatriates working in the private sector and who have two or more children studying, the new measures will be a big blow.

I  request the associations affiliated to the Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) to  intercede on behalf of parents in this matter.

 

Sunil Kumar, (e-mail address supplied)

 

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